‘SUCKER PUNCH’ IS BRUISING, BRILLIANT
The boxing ring is a very particular kind of stage, and when it is lifted onto the platform of a genuine theater it undergoes a fascinating transformation. Yes, the battle for physical dominance is still there. But what comes into far sharper relief is the true nature of the fight and the deep well of anger that fuels it.
Such is the case in acclaimed British playwright Roy Williams’ searing drama, “Sucker Punch,” now receiving its Midwest premiere at Victory Gardens Theatre, where director Dexter Bullard (a far too underutilized talent in this city) has gathered a stunning cast led by Maurice Demus, a luminous young actor who just happens to possess remarkable athletic prowess as well. Hollywood should be on the phone to this guy very soon.
The time is 1981 (the “Thatcher era”), and an economic depression is in full gear. The place is Brixton, a district of South London populated by many immigrants of African and Caribbean descent— an area now remembered as the site of a major race riot whose root causes will be familiar to anyone reading today’s headlines from a number of American cities.
Leon (Demus) and his younger and more tempestuous friend, Troy (Denzel Love, just right as the guy with a very short fuse and a more militant response to racism), are menial workers at the boxing gym owned and operated by Charlie (John Judd, an actor with a unique ability to play men beaten down by life), a white coach/manager with a latent alcohol problem.
Long on the lookout for a champion, Charlie has never quite been able to make a go of things. But when Tommy (Walter Briggs), Charlie’s not so great “white hope” of the moment leaves his gym, as many before have done, he turns his attention to Leon, a gifted athlete.
Leon proves he has the drive, talent and discipline to win major titles, even if he is happily distracted by his cross-racial romance with Charlie’s very smart and spirited redheaded daughter, Becky (Taylor Blim, another impressive young talent well worth watching). He also must deal with the constant requests for cash handouts from his dad, Squid (a superb comic turn by the ever virtuosic Kenn E. Head), a Jamaican immigrant with an eye for the ladies. Intensely loyal to Charlie, Leon also must deal with Troy’s accusations of being an Uncle Tom.
Push comes to shove when the Brixton riot breaks out and Leroy runs from the melee while Troy briefly gets caught up in it and embraces the rage. Fast forward and Leon has won several major European titles. But by now Troy, who has been taken under the wing of Ray (Andre Teamer), a hotshot American promoter with a talent for arranging big paydays, is a successful fighter in the U.S. And the two friends, who parted bitterly years earlier, must now duke it out in the ring.
Demus, lean and tautly muscled, gives a stellar performance that is at once charismatic and subtle. He carries off several dazzling aerobic feats (including one in which he simultaneously jumps rope and delivers a tricky monologue) and also winningly seduces Becky withMichael Jackson-style MoonWalk lessons.
Tom Burch’s set, with its angled ring, bare brick walls and steel lockers is spot-on, as are Tif Bullard’s “period” costumes. Applause, too, for Ruben Gonzalez’s fight choreography.
NOTE: Victory Gardens is in line to receive amatching grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, with a one-toone match for up to $100,000, and twice that if it exceeds the amount. This production should get the campaign off to a knockout start.